Method of unhaieilxa  aito tanking hides ob skins



UILIULIIOI FILED BBYT. I, 1904.

Patented Nmnl, 1910.

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G. D. BURTON. HETHOD 0F UFHAIBING LND TUNING HIDE! 0B SKINS.

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Patented Nov. 15, 1910.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE D. BURTON, 0F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

METHOD 0F UNHAIBING AND TANNING HIDES 0R SKINS.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE DEXTER Bmxrron, of Boston, county of Suffolk, and Conn monwealth of Massachusetts, electrician, having invented certain new and useful Imrovements in the Methods of Unhairing and a-nning Hides or Skins, do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

This invention relates to the method of unhairing and tanning or otherwise treating hides or skins, b subjecting them to the action of a suitable electrolytic solution and assing an electric current through said so iiztion in which the hides or skins are placed and also circulating said solution during the tanning or unhairing operation.

The object of this invention 1s to acllitate the passage of the electric current .and the strengthening and circulation of the unhairing or tanning solution.V

A form of mechanism for putting my invention into practice is shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of one of my vats and its connected parts. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section of the same, also showing the contents of the vat. Fig. 3 is a cross vertical section of the same. Figs. iand 6 show in elevation modified forms of the electrodes.

This invention relates more particularly to the unhairing and tanning of the hides or skins of seal, walrus and the like; and to the particular kind of solution used for treating the said hides or skins, both as regards the unhairing and tanning of the same, includin the method of extracting the oil or fatty sustance from them.

In order to successfully tan either seal or Walrus hides or skins, it is necessary to rst eliminate the oil and fatty matter therefrom. I have found after a long` series of experiments that a solution composed of sal soda of a. specific gravity of from 1.100 to 1.125 is best adapted to this purpose. The action of the current when passed through a soda solution develops a gas which acts upon the fatty or oily globules of the hides or skins and causes said globules to open or burst and free the. oil from the fatty part of the hide or skin.

The hides or skins are tirst soaked for a short time for the purpose of eliminatingr the salt. They are then placed in the soda Specification o! Letters Patent. aiapuunn and september a, 1904, smal No. 22a

Patented N 0V. 15, 1910.

,885. Renewed April l, 1910. Serial No. 552,901.

solution for a. period of about twenty-four hours, and a current of electricity is passed therethrough at varying intervals for a period of about twenty minutes every three hours. A large portion of the oil will he forced from the hides or skins and will rise to the surface of the solution, from which it may be removed in any suitable manner and saved. The hides or skins, after remaining in this solution for a period of from twelve to twenty-four hours, are in a condition ready for unhairing and they may be removed from the solution. The hides or skins are then immersed in a fresh and stronger solution of sal soda, through which a current of electricity is passed, and the solution agitated, for the purpose of breakin u the fatty globules which remain in the i es or skins after the first operation above described. -The breaking up of these remaining fatty lobules or sacs which hold the oil in the hi e or skin is accomplished in this manner, and this oil will rise to the top of the solution, from which it may be removed in any suitable manner. After the grease or oil has been removed from the surface of the solution the hides or skins are removed and properly fleshed, and are then placed in a weak solution of acetic or sulfuric acidabout a live de ree liquor or solutionfor the purpose of renching and cleansing said hides or skins. When taken from this solution the hides or skins are placed in a vat containing the tanning solution, which may be composed of any suitable tanning material, such as quebracho, oak, hemlock, etc., throu h which a current of electricity is passed while the hides or skins are in the tanning vat. This solution may be agitated by any Well-known mechanical means, such as a pump or paddle, during the whole or only a part of the time the hides or skins are in thc tanning solution. The current of electricitv may be passed through the solution in tie tank or Yat containing the hides or skins during the whole or only a portion of the time said hides or skills are being treated. Usually a direct current of electricity of 110 volts and from to 140 nmpcrcs is employed, the amount of ainperage and voltage varying with the sixe of the treating vat or tank and thc character and quantity of thc solution and the number of hides or skins io bc acted upon. As the treating solution becomes heated by the current of electricity the ampere-ge of the current is increased and con uentl more current is ilowingthrough t e so utlon contained in the tank, andthe eilect is a greater and more rapid action of the solution u'pvpln the hides or skins under treatment. e electric current is preferably passed intermittentl thi-ouah said solution to subject said hi es or skins to abrupt cha es of stress, as the solution becomes beate more current flows through the solution and there is more pressure or lpull upon the libers of the hides or skins un er treatment, and when the solution is agitated the amperes are varied from 5 to 8 according to the amount of solution and size of the tank.

In the trade, the skin of the seal is known as skinwwhile that of the Walrus is known as hide.

I will now describe one forni of apparatus for carrying my invention into practice, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

A vat, 1, is made of any suitable material and size. This vat is suspended upon legs, 2, :2, and is divided into three compartments, viz-a central part, 12, which contains the hides or skins to be treated and also a portion of the solution, which must be electrolytic and suitable for the purpose intended. The compartments, 8 and 9, each contain a portion of the electrolytic solution and are separated from the central compartment, 12, by the perforated diaphragme, 6 and 7. The compartments, 8 and 9, may be closed by the covers, 3 3, and each contain wing shafts (see 10 and 11, Fig. 2). These winged shafts are made to rotate and thus produce a constant circulation of liquid in the com artmeuts, 8 9 and 1Q.' This cir culation o the liquid insures an equal chemi cal and electrolytic. action throughout the vat. Motion is 'ven to the win ed shafts, 10 and 11, by a elt, 16, acting t ough the pulley, 15, and sprocket chain, 1T, and sprocket Wheels on the said shafts. The power may be derived from any suitable Wer source. A current of electricity is rnished from any suitable source through the conductors, 13, electrode, 4, and passed through the solution in the several compart ments of the tank or vat to electrode, 5, and conductor, 14, or any other desirable means. These forms of electrodes are shown in Figs. 45 and 6, and may be composed of ahuninum, copper, lead, nickel, or any suitable substance. I may also use any shape or size of tank or rat suitable for the pro er treatment of said hides or skins, pre erublv a tank or vat 9 feet long, 7 feet wide und 5% feet deep, composed of cypress wood two inches thick.

I desire to reserve the right to use any suitable solution in combination with electricity-which will cause the development of a gas or gases sullicient to ex and or contract the cil globules or sacs o the hides or skins for the purpose of releasing the oil.

lWhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters atent, is-

1. The method of treating hides or skins by electricity which consists in first placing the hides or skins in a solution of sal soda, then passin an electric current through said solution an causing the development of a gas which acts upon the fat or oil globules of the hides or skins and causes them to open and discharge their contents into the solution.

2. Method of treating hides or skins containing a fatty or oily substance, which consists in plac' the same in a solution of sal soda and passln an electric current interv mittently throng the solution in said vat or tank containing said hides or skins.

3. The method of treating hides or skins by electricity, which consists iu first placing the hides or skins in a solution of sal soda, then passing an electric current through said solution, and then'agitating each end of said solution to produce a circulation thereof amo said hides and skins.

4. The met od of treating hides or skins by electricity, which consists in first placing the hides or skins in a. solution of sal soda, then passing an electric current through said solution, and then agitating each end of said solution at points removed from said hides and skins to produce a circulation thereof amon said hides or skins.

5'. The method of treating hides or skins, which consists in first eliminating the oil from the fatty part of the hide or sln by subjecting it to the action of a current of electricity while immersed in a. suitable electrolytic solution, then removing the hides or skins and ileshing them, then placing them in a Weak acid solution to cleanse them, and then placin them in a tanning solution and subjecting iliem while thus immersed to the action of a current of electricity.

6. The method of treating hides or skins, which consists in first eliminating the oil from the fat-ty partof the hide or skin by subjecting it. to the action of a current of electricity while immersed in a suitable electrolytic solution, then removing the hides or skinsand ileshing them, then placing them in u weak acid solution to cleanse them, and then placing them in a tanning' solution and subjecting them while thus immersed to the action of a currentof electricity and agitating the solution.

T. The method of treu-ting hides or skins, which consists in first eliminating the oil from the fatty part of the hide or skin by subjecting it to the action of a current of electricity while immersed in a suitable electrolytic solution at. varying intervals for a period of 'twelve to twenty-four hours, then smoes 3 immersing them in a stro er solution under ngtuting iniuences an the action of a current of electricity, then cleansing the hides or skins, and then tennin them.

8. The method of treating hi es or skms, which consists in first eliminating the .salt

ltherefrom und then eliminating the oil from the fatty part of the hide or skin by subject ino'l it to the action of a current of electrlcity while immersed in a suitable electrolytic solution at varying mtervals for a pe- Dated at Boston, Mass., August 10, 1904.

GEO. D. BURTON.

Signed in the presence of- FRANK G. PARKER, JOHN BUCKLER. 

